• Gauchos Give Free Tickets To San Diego Christian Game
Through its Gauchos Give program, UCSB is pleased to announce that local high school students and youth will be admitted to the Thunderdome free to the Gauchos' game against San Diego Christian on Saturday, as well as the Friday Dec. 1 women's game against No. 6 Kentucky. High school students will only need to show a valid student ID for admission to either, or both games. The UCSB-San Diego Christian game will tip-off at 7:00 p.m. while the women's game against Kentucky will start at 3:00 p.m. Also, UCSB faculty and staff will be admitted free to the women's game by picking up a complimentary ticket from the Athletics Ticket Office located inside the ICA Building. F/or more information, call 893-UCSB (8272).

• Huddle Up!
The final in a series of three Gaucho Basketball Huddles is scheduled for pre-game when UCSB travels to Cal on Dec. 18. The Huddle costs $25 and run from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Toll Room of the Cal Alumni House. Heavy appetizers and drinks are included and a member o the Gaucho coaching staff will be there for a pre-game chalk talk and a preview of the game.For additional information or to RSVP, please contact Christina Baglas, the Director of Marketing, Events & Stewardship for the Gaucho Fund, at Christina.Baglas@athletics.ucsb.edu or by calling 805-893-5372.

• Single Game Tickets Available!
Single game tickets for all Gaucho men's and women's basketball games are now available and can be purchased in advance from the Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building on campus, by calling 805-893-UCSB (8272) or online by clicking here.

• On The Radio
All UC Santa Barbara basketball games are broadcast live in Santa Barbara on AM 1290 KZSB and will stream live online at UCSBgauchos.com and NewsPress.com. Gerry Fall is in his ninth year as the play-by-play voice of the Gauchos. Former Los Angeles Lakers and UCSB star Don Ford and Santa Barbara News-Press legend Mark Patton handle the color commentary.

• Talk'n Gauchos
UCSB Athletics' weekly radio show, Talk'n Gauchos, airs every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. on AM 1290 KZSB. The show is broadcast live from The Beachside Café, located on Goleta Beach and it features UCSB coaches and athletes. Hosted by Gerry Fall, the voice of the Gauchos. Fans can also catch Gaucho head coach Bob Williams every Thursday morning at 8:50 a.m. as he visits with Baron Ron Herron on "Bob and The Baron" on AM 1290.

•Gauchos Host Final Preseason Home Game, Travel To Cal UC Santa Barbara will play its third game this season against a team from San Diego when it hosts San Diego Christian on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 7:00 p.m. in the Thunderdome. The game will be the Gauchos' final preseason home game of the year. They will host an ESPNU BracketBuster game on Feb. 23, but Saturday's game will be the last prior to conference play. Next week, UCSB will hit the road for games at Cal (Dec. 18) and Wyoming (Dec. 21).

•The UCSB Record UCSB enters Saturday's game against San Diego Christian with a record of 3-5. The Gauchos are coming off of an 84-70 loss at No. 15 San Diego State on Dec. 6. By the time they take the court against the Hawks, they will have been off for nearly nine days for final exams.

•Boswell's Long-Range Bombs Not Enough, Gauchos Lose At No. 15 San Diego State Junior guard Kyle Boswell made 7-of-10 three-point shots and scored 23 points, but it wasn't enough as UCSB lost an 84-70 decision at No. 15 San Diego State on Dec. 6. The seven three-point baskets by Boswell were a career-high and equaled the most by a Gaucho player since Joe See drained eight on Jan. 6, 2005 at Utah State. The seven threes are tied for the sixth most in school history. The Aztecs' Chase Tapley nearly matched Boswell with six three-pointers, in eight attempts, to finish with 23 points. He was one of five SDSU players to score in double-figures. Sophomore Alan Williams added 18 points and six rebounds, while freshman Taran Brown had 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots for the Gauchos. The Aztecs made 10 of their firs 12 three-point attempts, including four straight to begin the second half, en route to the win. They shot 55.8% overall and 64.7% from beyond the three-point arc. UCSB's total of 70 points and 47.4% from the field were season-highs by SDSU opponents. Williams, Brown and freshman Michael Bryson all fouled out of the game in San Diego.

•UCSB Game At Cal Will Be Televised The Gauchos' game at Cal on Dec. 18 will be televised and available region-wide. The game against the Golden Bears will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks and will tip at 8:00 p.m. UCSB will also be televised when it play at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 29, ESPNU at 7:00 p.m.), vs. Long Beach State (Jan. 5, Fox Prime Ticket at 4:00 p.m.), at Long Beach State (Jan. 30, ESPNU at 8:00 p.m.) and possibly vs. Cal State Fullerton (Mar. 7, ESPNU at 7:00 p.m.). The home game against the Titans is one of two from which ESPN2 will choose to televise.

•Probable Starters - Quick Fact (Note: These are almost completely guesses.) G 1 Nate Garth - Had a career-high nine assists at San Diego State.
F 12 Lewis Thomas - Four rebounds at San Diego State were his highest total in five games.
F 15 Alan Williams - Only Gaucho to score in double-figures in every game.
G 24 Michael Bryson - Was scoreless and fouled out in 15 minutes at San Diego State.
F 35 Taran Brown- Has been in double-figures in six of the last seven games.

•Probable Reserves - Quick Fact G 4 Aamahd Walker - Back injury has him sidelined him indefinitely.
F 5 Keegan Hornbuckle- Ankle sprain has him sidelined indefinitely.
G 10 Kyle Boswell - Had career-highs of 23 points and seven threes at SDSU. Has 11 threes in last two.
G 11 T.J. Taylor- Played a season-high 23 minutes at San Diego State.
F 21 Mitch Brewe - Has two blocked shots in the last three games.
G 32 John Green - Projected starter, but broken bone in his foot has him sidelined indefinitely.
F 34 Shawn Moore - Has not played in the last two games.
G 43 Duke DaRé - Is a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line this season.
F 44 Sam Beeler - Had career-highs of eight points and five boards at San Diego State.

•The Injury Roundup Junior forward Keegan Hornbuckle re-sprained his ankle in UCSB's win at Santa Clara and missed the game at San Diego State. He remains sidelined indefinitely and most likely will not return until some point after the start of Big West play. Freshman guard Aamahd Walker remains sidelined with a back injury. Another freshman guard, John Green, expected to start this season, is out indefinitely with a broken bone in his foot.

•The Opponents The Dec. 15 meeting will be the first ever between UCSB and San Diego Christian. The Gauchos and Cal have played eight times in a series that began in 1948. The Golden Bears have won all eight games between the schools, including last year's 70-50 win in Berkeley.

•Dome, Sweet Dome UCSB is 2-1 at home this season. After opening the year with Thunderdome wins over The Master's College and the University of San Diego, the Gauchos dropped a game to Wyoming. Last season, UCSB went 11-3 at home with the losses coming to Long Beach State, San Diego State (in overtime) and UNLV (in double overtime), all teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In the last five-plus years, the Gauchos have gone 54-17.

•The Gauchos On The Road UCSB is 1-4 in road games this season. After losing at LSU, Illinois State and Boise State, the Gauchos traveled to Santa Clara on Dec. 1 and recorded an overtime win for their first road victory of the season. Last week, they dropped a decision at No. 15 San Diego State. In 2011-12 the Gauchos went 7-7 in true road games and 9-8 in all games away from home. Santa Barbara will play 16 true road games in 2012-13.

•Youth Is Served The Gauchos' leading scorer is sophomore Alan Williams. Their second leading scorer is freshman Taran Brown. The fourth leading scorer is freshman Michael Bryson. Of the 521 points that UCSB has scored through eight games this season 382, or 73.3%, have been scored by freshmen or sophomores. Of the team's 253 individual rebounds 216, or 85.4%, have been collected by freshmen and sophomores. Finally, of the team's 40 blocked shots 40, or 100.0%, have been recorded by freshmen and sophomores.

• Three For All
UCSB made a season-high 12 three-point baskets in its loss at No. 15 San Diego State, one game after making a season-high 11 in a win at Santa Clara. After making 17-of-61, 27.9%, in the three games prior to the game at Santa Clara, the Gauchos have made 23-of-54, 43.0%, in the last two games. They have made better than 41.4% in each of the last two games after previously recording a season-best 37.0% against The Master's College. Leading the assault in the last two games has been junior guard Kyle Boswell. After making 4-of-8 at Santa Clara, he had a career-best night at San Diego State by draining 7-of-10. In his first six games this season, Boswell was 10-of-34 from outside the three-point arc, in the last two games he made 11-of-18, 61.1%.

• The Offense Isn't Quite As Offensive
Since scoring 40 points in a Nov. 28 home loss to Wyoming, the Gauchos have taken some positive offensive steps. The 40 points they scored against the Cowboys were their fewest since they also scored 40 on Feb. 28 1985 in a game against Fresno State. In the last two games, at Santa Clara and San Diego State, UCSB has averaged 76.5 points per game. In the OT win against the Broncos, the Gauchos scored a season-high 83 points.

•Block Party! UCSB set a school record with 161 blocked shots last season. The Gauchos broke a record that stood for all of one season. This year, through eight games, they have 40 blocked shots, an average of 5.0 per game. If they continue at a five block per game average and play at least one game in the Big West Tournament, they would finish with 155 over their 31 games, a figure that would be the second highest all-time. UCSB has blocked at least one shot in every game this season and has turned away five or more five times. Sophomore Alan Williams leads the way with 18, while freshman Taran Brown has 10.

•The "Other" Williams Sophomore Alan Williams continues to lead the Gauchos in scoring (16.4 points per game), rebounds (9.1 per game) and blocked shots (2.3 per game). In the loss at San Diego State, Williams scored 18 points and had six rebounds before fouling out. He was coming off of the best game of his career in the Gauchos' win at Santa Clara on Dec. 1. Against the Broncos Williams set new personal standards with 29 points and 17 rebounds. He also set new career-highs by playing 39 minutes, making 11 free throws and attempting 15. Williams became the first Gaucho player in more than 22 years to have at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in the same game. The last time was on Jan. 29, 1990 when Eric McArthur had 28 points and 21 rebounds in an overtime win against Cal State Fullerton. In addition, the 17 rebounds were the most by a UCSB player since Josh Merrill collected 18 against Westmont on Dec. 7, 1996. Williams is the only UCSB player to score in double-figures in all eight games this season. In addition to the three categories mentioned earlier, he also paces the team in field goal percentage at 51.1% and is second in steals with nine. Among Big West Conference leaders, Williams is seventh in scoring, second in rebounding and blocked shots. His double-double in the game at Santa Clara was his third of the season and fifth of his career. Williams has blocked a shot in six of eight games. In fact, he's blocked two or more in six of eight games, including a season-high five on Nov. 21 against the University of San Diego.

•Taran It Up Freshman Taran Brown had 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots in the game at San Diego State. He made 4-of-9 three-point attempts. Brown is now averaging 13.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is the leading freshman scorer in the Big West and ranks 11th overall. Brown also ranks 15th in the league in rebounding. Since making just 1-for-10 from the field, scoring three points and collecting one rebound in the season-opener at LSU, Brown has averaged 15.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 43.3% overall and 39.2% from beyond the three-point arc. In making four three-point baskets in the last game, he now has 20 on the year, all in the last seven games, second on the team. In fact, Brown has made two or more six times, including the last four games. On Nov. 12 he scored a season-high 22 points at Illinois State and in the next game, Nov. 17 vs. The Master's College, he had his first career double-double with 20 points and 13 boards. Brown became the first freshman in school history to record consecutive games of 20 or more points.

•Who's The Bos? Junior Kyle Boswell is the Bos, that's who's the Bos. Boswell had his best offensive game ever in UCSB's Dec. 6 contest at San Diego State as he made a career-high seven three-pointers, in 10 attempts, and scored a career-high 23 points. The seven threes were the most by a Gaucho since Joe See made eight at Utah State on Jan. 6, 2005. On the season, Boswell is now averaging 11.0 points per game, but in the last three games he is scoring at a 16.0 point per game clip. In the last two games, he has made 11-of-18 shots from outside the three-point arc, 61.1%. In the first six games he made 10-of-34 from three-point range, 29.4%. Boswell now leads the team with his 21 threes, a figure than ranks him second in the Big West Conference. He started the first five games for the Gauchos this season, but in the last three he has returned to a role that he became very familiar with last season. In the last three, Boswell was called on to come off the bench and spark UCSB. In the Dec. 1 win at Santa Clara he not only provided a spark, but also an exclamation point and the biggest basket of the year. Boswell made a long three-pointer from above the key at the buzzer, tying the score and sending the game into overtime. The Gauchos seized the opportunity and won, 83-80. The 23 points he scored at San Diego State were six more than his previous season-high of 17 set on Nov. 19 at LSU.

•The World According To Garth Point guard Nate Garth, UCSB's only senior, has started all eight games this season and leads the team in assists with an average of 4.3 per game, a figure that ranks him fifth in the Big West. He also ranks fifth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.3-to-1.0. In the Dec. 6 game at San Diego State, Garth had a career-high nine assists. Since going assist-less in the season opener at LSU, he has 34 in seven games, 4.9 per game, and since totaling three in the first two games, he has averaged 5.2 per game. Garth has five or more assists in each of the last two games, a first for him, and four times this season. Also, he has played 27 minutes in each of the last two games, a season-high. In addition to his 4.3 assists per game, Garth is averaging 4.9 points per outing, fifth on the team. He had a season-high 12 on Nov. 17 vs. The Master's College.

•Taylor Made Sophomore point guard T.J. Taylor played a season-high 23 minutes on Dec. 6 at San Diego State. He had a pair of assists and one steal. In the previous game, a win at Santa Clara, he had his best game of the season. Against the Broncos, Taylor scored two points on 1-of-3 from the field, but he had six assists and no turnovers in his 22 minutes. The six assists equaled his career-high and was the third highest total by a UCSB player this season. Taylor also collected a pair of rebounds against Santa Clara. On the season, the Oakland native is now averaging 3.0 points and 2.5 assists per game. In the last five games, he is averaging 3.0 assists per game and has had three or more four times. Finally, Taylor has seen his playing time increase over the last three games, playing at least 22 minutes in each of the three.

•The Life Of Bryson Freshman Michael Bryson is averaging 5.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He has played in seven of the eight games this season, missing the Nov. 17 contest against The Master's College with a strained back. Bryson ranks third on the team with eight three-point baskets, having made two in four different games. Bryson had his toughest game on Dec. 6 at San Diego State when he fouled out in just 15 minutes, missed his only shot and was scoreless. He did have two assists and a blocked shot against the Aztecs. Bryson scored a season-high 10 points in UCSB's opener at LSU. After that game, his back tightened up and he was limited to five minutes at Illinois State and then he sat out the game against The Master's College. He has started the last three games, and played a season-high 32 minutes on Dec. 1 at Santa Clara.

•Australian Rules Sophomore forward Lewis Thomas has started seven of the eight games this season and played an average of 19.5 minutes per game. In the last four games, however, he has averaged 15.2 minutes. Averaging 3.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, he scored a season-high six three times, most recently on Dec. 1 at Santa Clara, and had a season and career-high nine rebounds against The Master's College on Nov. 17.